Harry Potter and the Secret of the Beholder
by N.D. Rowling
Summary: After discovering the truth about his family, Draco changed for the better. Out to beat his father, Draco searches for the beholder. But what happens if Harry finds the Beholder first?
1. Daddy Knows Best

Harry Potter and the Secret of the Beholder:  
  
Chapter One: Daddy Knows Best  
  
His body let out a shudder; he had betrayed himself in the still of the night. Perhaps it was the cold, or the nervousness of what could happen to him if his father had caught him spying. Draco Malfoy's blonde hair was sitting unkemptly, and he used one of his long hands to push it back, for he was beginning to sweat. His black pajamas kept him well hidden, in the dark and still hallway, and no light would shine through on this moonless night.  
  
Sneaking about the Malfoy Estate was not a smart decision, though he felt what he had to gain was worth it all. Their estate creaked eerily, and the ancient foundations weren't quite as old as the ancient house elf that worked there. If Nezra, the family house elf, ever caught him out and about on a night like this, especially when his father was on such an important mission, she would surely send him off to bed for a long time, using her strange magic.  
  
All that didn't matter now, Draco thought, as he arrived at the door. He had made it to the library, which was nearly across the whole house from his comfortable bedroom. He put his ear to the door the rough wooden door, trying to listen to what was being said. He found it hard to hear, as the voices were barely a whisper. He reached for his wand, and threw it away quickly. He had almost used magic, and everyone knew that it was against the rules. Well not the Muggles, anyway.  
  
Perhaps if Draco were a normal boy, who attended a normal school, and wore normal clothes, and lived in a normal town, none of this would be happening. Fortunately for Draco he was not. Draco was a 15-year-old wizard and he attended the greatest magic schools in England, Hogwarts. He was the last descendent, for now, in one of the oldest wizarding family. His blood was pure, and he slept well at night knowing this. It was he who safe, no one of course knew this. With Voldemort raised, he knew he wouldn't be a casualty when Voldemort took over the entire world.  
  
"Lucius, my dear boy." A deep, hoarse voice whispered. "You will do as I say, to prove yourself to me."  
  
"B-But master!" Draco heard his father object. "What you ask is too much for one man to handle."  
  
"Hush!" The voice croaked again, obviously not interested in what Lucius had to say. "Did you hear that?"  
  
"H-h-hear what, M-master?" Lucius was able to get out, forming a sentence.  
  
Footsteps advanced towards the door, Draco looked with horror on his face. He looked around the deserted hallway, from one corner to the next. The doorknob turned slightly, they were almost out. It was then he noticed it, the trapdoor that contained the Dark Arts item. Only his father knew about this, and he surely wouldn't let anyone, not even Voldemort see this. Without another though, Draco leaped down into the trap door, and let the door shut, just as he heard the door open and Voldemort let out a cackle.  
  
"I must be hearing things then, right, Malfoy?" Voldemort said coldly, malice in his voice.  
  
"I-I swear to you." Lucius said, obviously getting what Voldemort meant. "I didn't notify a soul."  
  
"Right." Voldemort said shortly. "On to your duties. I have given you everything you will need to know, sort of. I however, do not know the holder. Only one person does, Albus Dumbledore. If, however, by the last term of Hogwarts this year, I do not have what a want-" Voldemort said being cut off by Lucius.  
  
"You will master, you will." He said, his voice going up a few octaves than normal.  
  
"Just remember the pledge." Voldemort said with a tone that could only mean discussion was closed.  
  
The pledge? Draco's mind was filled with thought, as the voices had carried in from the hall. His father had made a pledge, but what did this pledge consist of. Draco didn't want to think, but he could also know it wouldn't be good. If Voldemort felt betrayed, well Draco didn't want to think. He shuddered again, only this time he knew it wasn't from the cold.  
  
"N-not my boy." Lucius said, not taking the hint.  
  
"There will be no more discussion. I will be off, for no one knows what Dumbledore is up to." The voice deep hissed, and in a whisper again. "Until later."  
  
Draco's mind had been acting up again, and he could not control it this time. What about me? What about this pledge? Draco sat down, realizing what his father had done. He had risked himself and his family to gain power, to become a strong wizard. What kind of father does this? Draco knew it surely wasn't a normal family, if for only one minute he could be a normal boy, in a normal school, in a normal town. Then, he shuddered. This time it was that he actually though about being a muggle, or non-magical folk.  
  
"Honestly!" Draco said to himself, his voice quivering. "How could he do this to me?"  
  
Lucius was still in the library, and Draco heard walking above. He wanted to go crawl back in bed, then wake up and realize it was just a dream. That his life was not in danger, and that he could control his own fate. He tried pinching himself, but he gave up. He stood up, and then sat back down. He didn't know what to do with himself, so instead he closed his eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep. Draco awoke to his own reluctance, when he heard a loud screeching sound in his ear. There was an owl, with a copy of the Daily Prophet hanging from his beak, waiting to be paid.  
  
"I don't have any money." He said in a deep, grouchy voice. "Ask my father."  
  
He walked from the room, and up into the library. He decided that he needed to do some further investigation, for what he had heard the previous night had not stopped haunting him. He walked in, and surprisingly saw his father there, pouring over many books. Well he had been, but now he was just lying on top of them, snoring loudly. Draco crept, yet again, to what his father had been reading. It was something on immortality, which Draco found very odd. Then, he looked at a thick pile of papers, handwritten from an untidy hand. Draco hadn't recognized this writing as his father's, or any that he had read before. When he read the first few lines, Draco grabbed the papers and ran from the room, smiling for he knew what he needed to do. His own fate was in his hand.  
  
~ To those actually reading, please review. I always like to see what people have to say and take your comments (positive or negative and help me write in the future. So, please give me an honest review. Thank a lot! ~ 


	2. To Hogwarts We Go!

Chapter Two: To Hogwarts We Go!  
  
The shrill voice of Aunt Petunia was enough to wake anyone up, but Harry was especially easy to wake up this morning. It was the last day of summer, but for an unusual boy like Harry, getting away from the Dursley's was a welcome prospect. He checked off the last day, and it was now the day the term would start. He smiled when he read that marked on the first of September he would return to Hogwarts, Harry's school.  
  
Harry dressed quickly, and threw his supplies into a trunk. He surveyed the room through his green eyes, the only thing Harry had inherited from his mother. He made sure he had packed his wand, all the books he would need, and most importantly this year, his invisibility cloak. When Harry had began thinking of returning to Hogwarts, the thoughts came filling into him. Of Cedric's death, of seeing Voldemort rise to power again, it made Harry sick. He took a final glance into the mirror, and tried to straighten his messy hair. It was impossible, impossible as raising a dragon. Harry chuckled to himself, thinking of Hagrid for the first time in awhile.  
  
The good thoughts didn't last for long, as he was already piled into the car, waiting to be driven to Kings Cross, where he would get on the Hogwarts Express. Harry tried to process his thoughts, before he entered the wizarding world again. He didn't know what the state of it was, and he was dying to know. He closed his eyes, and leaned his head back, trying to tell the story to himself, again.  
  
It all began when Harry was just one-year-old, and when Voldemort had decided to try and kill Harry's parents. His parents were hiding in Godric's Hollow, away from Voldemort, for they knew he was looking for them. Voldemort was a dark wizard and he was as dark as they come. He was so strong, and so powerful, that many do not speak his name still to this day. The only problem was, his parents thought that they were hidden, but their friend Wormtail had ratted them out to Voldemort.  
  
When Voldemort found out where his parents were, he marched towards Godric's Hollow. When he arrived, James Potter, Harry's father, put up a good fight but eventually fell to his death. Voldemort then turned towards Harry, and went to kill him, but Harry's mother, Lily, wouldn't let him. Voldemort in turn, killed her, though she needn't die. With Harry the only one left, and a poor defenseless baby, Voldemort went to kill Harry, but couldn't and Voldemort was said to have died right then.  
  
Only, he didn't die and just last year, at the end of the Tournament, he was able to get enough power to rise again. He was strong enough now, but he was also weaker. Everything Voldemort had tried to gain immortality, but now he had to settle to be mortal for a while.  
  
Harry opened his eyes reluctantly, and realized they had stopped. Sweat was pouring from his forehead, and he was breathing heavily, just like it always had whenever he thought of Voldemort. He closed his eyes once more, let out a deep breath and grabbed his things, emerging from the car.  
  
As he looked all around, Uncle Vernon pulled the car away hastily. He couldn't see any sign of five flaming red heads, with hundreds of freckles to cover their face. He didn't know if the Weasley family would have arrived yet. Harry had forgot to check the time, and was left clueless standing in between platforms nine and ten.  
  
It was lucky Harry didn't enter the platform for the Hogwarts Express, because Ron came running through. He looked excited as ever, and Harry could tell that something great had happened. He was glad to see something happen to Ron for once and not him. "Harry! Harry!" He shouted, still not close enough. He arrived, and he began to speak through his pants. "Dad. Great news. Won't believe. Ministry. Galeons."  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure I'll enjoy it." Harry said with a laugh. "I can't believe you ran that fast to see me!"  
  
"Of course it wasn't you silly." Said a voice from behind him. "It was the chocolates that await him on the train."  
  
"Fred!" Harry said through a chuckle, though he could tell Ron was upset the attention was being taken from Harry. Remember last year, Harry quickly turned to Ron. "So, what were you trying to tell me?"  
  
Ron gave a nod to the left, and Harry saw why he was so quiet. At that exact moment, Draco Malfoy walked by, with extreme malice in his voice as he whispered something to his father. He was so busy, that he didn't even bother to say anything to Harry or Ron. Ron let out a surprised look, and simply gleamed.  
  
"Has no reason to mock either of us." Ron said with an excited squeal.  
  
Just then, Hermione walked in behind Mrs. Weasley. If Harry hadn't seen her with Mrs. Weasley he would've hardly recognized her! Her change over the summer was so drastic, that she didn't look the same. Her normally bushy hair was now permanently straight. Embarrassed he even noticed, Harry noticed that fifteen had been the time she really started to blossom. Their Hermione was changing to a woman right before their eyes. Ron had summed it up the previous year when he called Hermione a girl! And boy was she one.  
  
In little time, they were on the train again and the five of them were in Harry's usual seats. They crammed together, talking about their summers. Harry sat back and listened because he felt that being abused by the Dursley's was not a very nice story. Perhaps the best story came from the Weasley's, as Ron told the story so excellently.  
  
"Money!" He said excitedly. "We have money."  
  
"Don't be so foolish." George added, looking a bit angry. "We've always had money. It's just now we have more. You see, Harry, our dad had gained so much influence with the help of Dumbledore, Fudge couldn't help but promote him."  
  
"That's great." Harry said smiling, and he was truly happy.  
  
"It is." Hermione added, looking up from her textbook.  
  
"Department of Mysteries!" Fred said, amazed. "I don't think it's quite a mystery what they are dealing with."  
  
Harry smiled, and he didn't know if the time was right. He decided that he couldn't hold back any longer, the desire to ask, to want, to know. It was a passion that constantly burned in the young boy.  
  
"I have to ask about that." He said, sounding as though he was thinking aloud. "What has happened since we left school?"  
  
"Not much, it's being well hidden." Ron answered, his voice shaky. "You- Know-Who is gaining power. We can tell from our dad, right now he is killing muggles, gaining his power. Biding his time again."  
  
"Not many know. Know that he is there, and could strike at any time." Hermione said, joining into the conversation. "I've been getting the Daily Prophet, and there has been no mention. No mention of Diggory, or anything. They are doing a good job at covering it up, but when it's finally exposed, it'll be only when Voldemort decides so."  
  
The Weasley boys flinched, and Harry looked at Hermione with a surprised look. Not many people said Voldemort's name, the only person Harry could remember actively saying it was Dumbledore, and of course himself. "It's been all muggles so far." George said, he was thinking about things deeply himself.  
  
"Hard time they had covering it up?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione.  
  
"The deaths have been random, in different parts all over. The muggles are blaming it on different murders, and they aren't even going to further investigate." Hermione said, and she put down her book. "I mean they realized what they've gotten themselves into before. I've read it in some book, I know you haven't read." She added.  
  
Harry sat quiet and numb. He didn't know what else he could ask, he could tell Voldemort was still active, and was still on his quest for power. Or is power what he really wanted? In fact, all he wanted was to be immortal. So why doesn't someone just give him what he wants. If the decision was up to Harry, he would give him it. As Harry though that, Dumbledore's words rang in his head. He deicded he would chose what was right, not easy, like Dumbledore had suggested.  
  
"What about Karkaroff? Snape?" Harry asked, knowing they had both once been Death Eaters, or followers of Voldemort.  
  
"Dead, and no one knows where Snape is." Ron answered, smiling at what he had just said.  
  
Harry looked grim, but seeing the positive he then added, "Potions could be very interesting this year."  
  
The conversation that had been going on in their compartment suddenly ended as the door opened and Draco entered. Harry reached for his wand, but Draco raised his hands. Harry looked, and noticed he was alone.  
  
"Potter, a word?" Malfoy asked, his voice showing his nervousness.  
  
"I'm fine here." Harry challenged. "What do you want?"  
  
"I just wanted to let you know that you are right." Draco said, and then he walked away.  
  
"Right with what?" Harry called after him, curious.  
  
"With how you chose your friends." Draco said, looking suddenly upset. "Perhaps, it was I who should follow my own advice."  
  
Harry was stunned, so stunned that he didn't even realize that train had stopped. Harry thought of one more person he needed to ask. He smiled, thinking of the kind face and then asked-  
  
"How is Dumbledore taking all of this?" Harry asked. His smile turned to a nervous look as everyone's face became serious.  
  
"Oh-Harry, you don't know?" Hermione said her face filled with concern.  
  
"He's been sacked!" they all seemed to say at once, in unison.  
  
~ To those actually reading, please review. I always like to see what people have to say and take your comments (positive or negative and help me write in the future. So, please give me an honest review. Thank a lot! ~ 


End file.
